The Best Yoga Studios In Phoenix

Confession: I’m a bit of a yoga floozie… in that I love to gym jump to studios all across the Valley (and there are a lot). Between Arcadia and North Scottsdale, yoga studios almost outnumber Starbucks. And each one has a niche: some are hot, hot, hot!; others are more into the meditative restorative thang. And because I love lists so much, here’s my rundown of my top 6…

1. The best place for restorative: Metta Yoga
Owner Zuzana Kolinkova is a yoga genius. The first time I took her class I was like, where have you been all my life? My body and mind were blown away by the intricate series of asanas she linked together in just the right way – I guarantee it’s like nothing you’ve experienced before. And all the classes at Metta have a little something special, whether you’re doing Qi-Yoga & Body Rolling with Kat or Loriee’s Master Flow Sunday at 9am (holy challenging!). Bonus: Metta classes are also offered at The Phoenician Resort – the best yoga with a view in the Valley!

Metta owner Zuzana Kolinkova

2. The best downtown studio: Urban YogaI have a serious love affair with Urban Yoga. I love the total lack of yoga snobbery (no attitude whatsoever), I LOVE the instructors (Tara Martell, Jenn Chiarelli, Mollie Karlicek, Kate Makaroff, Emily Stooks… Amazing!) and I love all the treasures in the yoga boutique. Plus there’s a class for every yogi and mood, from Slow Flow to kick-your-butt Power Flow. Honorable mention: Sutra Midtown.

Urban Yoga has a welcoming vibe!

3. The best yoga bang for your buck: Hot Yoga University
When I first saw the drop-in price at Hot Yoga University in South Scottsdale, I thought it must be a mistake: a $10 drop in is unheard of in Scottsdale. But I was happily wrong. Owner Karin Ann Fellman is a yoga purist and truly believes in the yoga as “union” definition. Even better, full-time college students can get an unlimited monthly membership for $59 (no joke!). Don’t worry, the discounted price doesn’t translate to a discounted experience: the studio and classes will not disappoint.

Hot Yoga University – the best yoga deal in the Valley!

4. The best hot yoga: True Hot YogaThis was one tough category, but I had to pick my top: True Hot Yoga. Their True Hot Yoga class is like Bikram meets flow: it has balancing and energizing asanas, a heated/humidified room for an extra dose of detox + music. And their Scottsdale studio has a second studio for hot flow. But honorable mention goes out to Sumits Yoga and Bikram Yoga AZ.

True Hot Yoga takes the “hot” best of

5. The best yoga instructors: Gainey Villageand The Madison Improvement Club
This was also a tough one because there are so many darn good teachers in the Valley. The Village has Beri Golding, Hillary Ryan and Danielle Campagna; The Madison has Gina Marciano, Alex Austin and Harmony Fulton. You could take a class at either and know you’re going to get an AMAZING workout and walk away with those feel-good yoga vibes surging through your system.

Gainey Village instructors rock!

6. The crowd favorite: One Love Yoga at GrayhawkIn case you missed it, One Love Yoga was just voted best yoga studio in the Valley by AZFoothills’ Best of Our Valley. Bonus: as well as yoga, they offer mat-based Pilates and Latin-infused Zumba.

Thank you for your article on yoga in the Phoenix area. I love how you highlighted the possibility for variety in yoga. A yoga practice can be so many things and its great to see that explained so clearly.

I’m a valley native who recently moved back to teach yoga at Yoga to the People in Tempe. YTTP is a donation based yoga studio that has locations in NYC, the Bay Area, Seattle, and now Tempe. I invite you to come practice with us in your yoga wanderings and experience our community for yourself. YTTP classes are power-vinyasa flow. They are rigorous but can be tailored to all levels and abilities. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Great choices. My daughter teaches at Urban Yoga and takes classes at Madison. She also just started teaching at a brand new studio (1/10/14) called Yogalution at the 7th Avenue and Thomas lofts! I have taken classes with Kat and she is amazing. I also really like Inner Vision Yoga. Very well-trained teachers with a variety of styles at two locations.